


I Don't Pretend I Don't Remember

by MusicPlayer81



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Ever - Freeform, F/M, Gen, and that's what matters, they have no idea how to express their feelings, they're each others best friends though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:02:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25907032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MusicPlayer81/pseuds/MusicPlayer81
Summary: Lin and Tenzin have always had each other--that, Lin can never forget. A look at their friendship, before and after their relationship.
Relationships: Bumi II/Izumi (Avatar), Lin Beifong/Kya II, Lin Beifong/Tenzin, Pema/Tenzin (Avatar)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 60





	1. Before

**Author's Note:**

  * For [braigwen_s](https://archiveofourown.org/users/braigwen_s/gifts).



> I really wish we had seen more of Lin and Tenzin's friendship in the show--but that's what we have fic for! Shoutout to @braigwen_s for the idea, you're the best. I hope you enjoy :) oh, and happy Korra on Netflix day!

Lin knew even before she opened her eyes that the day had come.

After one excruciatingly long year of traveling to the various Air Nomad temples to show off his new arrows, Tenzin was finally coming home.

She launched herself out of bed and threw on the ao dai she had been airing out specifically for the occasion. The billowy pants were cut from black silk, and the green high-necked tunic fit against her in such a way that she thought—

She thought—

Well, who cared what she thought? Tenzin was coming home today and this was the set of clean clothes she had and that was that. She shoved her feet into the corresponding flats as a sleepy Suyin, who had somehow heard her from down the hall, mumbled for her to be quiet. Lin responded by slamming the front door shut.

The stars were still in the sky as Lin made her way onto the first ferry. She nodded her hello to the acolyte steering the ship and settled into her favorite seat: the very front, perfect for watching Air Temple Island come into view. A gentle tinkling caught her attention and she looked up to see strings of delicate lanterns decorating the boat. Lin grinned. Leave it to Aunt Katara to decorate everything possible.

Within minutes the boat docked. She stepped off and strode through the island, past the halls, past the courtyards, past the orchards, all the way to the cliff.

Their cliff.

It wasn’t much—just a grassy part of the island jutting out into the sea—but it was the one part of the island where they were never disturbed. They had found it as children when Tenzin had taken her around the island on his first air glider, and they had gone back ever since. This cliff hosted some of her favorite memories, of deep conversations as the sun rose or set. She dropped into a cross-legged position as the first rays of light began to streak across the sky and sighed. “I’m so glad this is the last sunrise without you.”

“Me too.”

Lin turned around in alarm to see a bald teen leaning on an air glider. He wore maroon pants and a yellow high-necked sleeveless tunic, which showed off both blue tattoos and a surprisingly muscular physique. Her breath caught in her chest and she threw herself into the teen’s outstretched arms. “Tenzin,” she mumbled into his chest—was he taller than her now?—her voice tight with emotion.

“Lin,” he whispered, his voice equally strained. He held her for a couple beats longer, then released her. His gaze flickered over her, as if he couldn’t believe that she was in front of him. “I missed you.”

Lin pulled him back into a hug. “I missed you too.” She let him go, her gaze lingering on his muscles. “When did you get those?”

“What, the arm muscles? That’s what happens when each abbot wants you to demonstrate your mastery. And by demonstrate mastery, I mean demonstrate every. Single. Move. I don’t blame them, though, there’s not exactly a whole lot of air benders around.”

“No, that there’s not.”

Tenzin sighed, then did a double take. “Are those—is that—new clothes?”

Lin blushed. So he _had_ noticed. She shouldn’t have ever doubted. “Oh, yeah. Yeah they are. Do you—“

Tenzin’s eyes widened, and he nodded. “Uh, yeah, Yeah, yeah, I do.”

She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “Thanks.” She looked up to see that the sun had fully risen. Already she could feel the tingle of a bustling island kicking into higher gear. Ugh, she didn’t want them to be disturbed, not yet. “Hey, you wanna go for a walk?

“Same path?”

“As if there’d be a different one.”

Tenzin grinned, and the two began to walk side by side down towards the temple library at the center of the island. If they so happened to meander through the orchards, well, that was just a coincidence. “So,” he started off, plucking a couple apples for them off a low-hanging branch and offering one to Lin, “what have I missed?

“Nuh-uh, I ask the questions first,” Lin replied, biting into her apple. Crisp and not too sweet-he knew just how she liked them. “First off, when did you get back? I thought you were supposed to arrive at noon today!”

“Yeah, so did I,” Tenzin said. “I thought we were supposed to arrive at 12 noon…turns out it was 12 midnight instead. Not sure if that was an accident, or intentional on Dad’s part.”

“Well, good thing math wasn’t required for getting your tattoos,” Lin said, playfully nudging him with her shoulder. “But I’m sure your family was thrilled.”

“Of course they were. Mom cried. Kya and Bumi actually seemed thrilled by my presence.”

“Speaking of Bumi—“

Tenzin raised an eyebrow as they walked up to the temple library, then looked around conspiratorially. Satisfied that no one was around, he turned to Lin. “Yeah, speaking of things I’ve missed, can we talk about how Bumi proposed to _the_ Izumi?”

“And she said _yes!_ I mean—“

“ _Right_?”

They leaned against the doors, laughing until their stomachs ached. Lin had missed this.

More than that, she had missed him.

“C’mon, let’s get to the bookbinding room,” Tenzin wheezed, opening the door for them both. “Because—“

“Oh I know.”

They raced down the same old library aisles to one of their favorite spaces: the bookbinding room. With the events of the day, it was completely empty.

Nice.

Tenzin shut the door behind them, then settled into a nearby chair, Lin next to him. “I just—not that I don’t love my brother—“

“Of course—“

“But this is _Izumi_ we’re talking about. She’s the Crown Princess of the Fire Nation! She speaks a ton of languages, she’s helped run the nation since she was _16_ _—“_

“And Bumi’s crowning glory for far, far too long was that he could eat more stewed sea prunes than Uncle Sokka.”

“No kidding.” Lin chuckled to herself. “Speaking of Uncle Sokka, I’m almost afraid to see what he has planned for the bachelor party. You have any idea?”

Tenzin groaned. “No, but I’m already dreading it. You know it’s going to be over-the-top and _embarrassing._ ”

“Ha! As if it would be any other way.”

“Was it like that when they got engaged? Mom wrote and said that it was understated engagement, but Dad and I couldn’t tell if she was being sarcastic or not.”

“She wasn’t, actually. I also thought it was going to be a huge over-the-top affair in front of everyone, but apparently he proposed to her in the dead of night when she was up late in the throne room. Uncle Zuko didn’t even know until he saw the betrothal necklace on Izumi’s neck the next day at breakfast. There was a red ribbon and everything. Even carved the pendant out of obsidian and not seashell, apparently.”

“Wow. Kudos to Bumi. That may be the one thing he has ever been able to keep under wraps.”

Lin shook her head in agreement, then paused to look around the room. “Do you remember sneaking back here when we were kids? Bumi and Kya were always sneaking off the island, but not us.”

“I do. No one could pry away from making these.” Tenzin walked over to a shelf and opened a box on an empty worktable. He motioned to Lin to look at the contents. Tiny books, with spines two inches high.

“You kept them?” Lin breathed, palming one. “I thought you had forgotten.”

“You always said you need an excuse to keep visiting the island.” Tenzin shrugged shyly. “It couldn’t hurt to keep them.”

Lin looked at Tenzin, his fingers skimming the cover of another copy. Her fingers reached out to brush against his.

“No,” she said, interlacing their fingers. “It didn’t hurt at all.”


	2. After

Lin had to give it to the acolytes. They really knew how to throw a party.

When she had first heard that Varrick and Zhu Li were engaged, she was confused. When she heard that the wedding was going to be held at Air Temple Island, she was concerned.

She shouldn’t have been. That was the most fun she’d had in a long time.

The entire main courtyard had been transformed to resemble an icy Water Tribe dance floor, with delicate light blue paper lanterns twinkling overhead for light and shiny temporary flooring put in to resemble ice. A jazz band playing the latest music was playing, to which she and Kya had danced themselves silly. Food of all types was aplenty, libations were flowing—it was truly a party for everyone. Varrick and Zhu Li even attempted to “drop in” on their reception by using old airbending suits—it had only been through Tenzin’s quick intervention that their plans were thwarted.

A shame, really. She really wanted to see what would happen.

Now, with night settling in, she found herself walking past the courtyards, past the orchards, all the way to her favorite cliff. When she and Tenzin had been a couple, it had been their cliff, one of the few places they were guaranteed peace. Nowadays, Lin found herself gravitating towards it whenever she needed to gather her thoughts.

That did not count as meditation. It would _never_ count as meditation. All that spiritual flim-flam was about separating oneself from the earth, but how could she ever do that? The earth, _her_ earth, was one filled with beauty.

That Korra had created a new spirit portal had only added to it.

“I thought I’d find you here.”

Lin turned around to find Tenzin, his hands tucked into his dress robes. “Tell Kya I’ll be back soon. Raava, you just can’t tear her off the dance floor, can you?” She started to wave him off only to do a double take. Why were his clothes so rumpled? “What happened to you?”

“Meelo, Rohan, and a few too many glasses of fruit punch.” He gestured to where she was sitting. “Do you mind if I join you?”

“Would Pema?”

“She was the one who suggested I find you, actually. Said you might be feeling…things.”

Ah. Well now. That’s a thought.

Lin threw her head back and laughed. “The only thing I’m feeling right now is the buzz of semi-diluted cactus juice running through my veins.”

Tenzin produced a couple flasks from his robes and offered one to Lin. “Figured you’d say that.”

Lin chuckled and took the proffered flask. “Ah, now it’s a party.” She took a swig. “It’s been far, far too long since the last party on Air Temple Island. How long has it been? 30 years?”

Tenzin raised an eyebrow as he unscrewed the lid of his flask. “Lin, I got married 16 years ago.”

“Ah, I should have been clearer. I wasn’t counting your wedding. Let’s be honest, your wedding was a political event that just _happened_ to have your nuptials attached to it. Now, Bumi’s wedding? _That_ was a party!”

Tenzin chuckled. “I mean, Izumi slid off Druk in a blaze of rainbow fire and then walked through an arch of flaming swords on her way to the altar. You _knew_ it was going to be a party.”

“Ha! Remember when the Fire Nation entourage got confused, so they delivered Bumi to the reception in a palanquin?”

“Oh, you mean the one that he was reclining on shirtless because he thought Izumi had called it to take him to the bridal suite?”

“He had a rose between his teeth and everything!”

Tenzin held up his hand. “Let us not forget, of course, The Infamous Calling of Druk.”

Lin threw her head back and laughed. “You mean when she drunkenly called on Druk for a joyride in the middle of the reception? She somehow ended up on the roof of the temple library—“

“At which point Bumi, still shirtless, climbed up with a knife in between his teeth—“

—to which he grabbed her, cut a prayer flag to swing them down—“

“—and into Oogi’s saddle, where they set off an arsenal of fireworks that rivaled the Fire Nation festivals.”

They fell back laughing, flasks tumbling from their hands. Her stomach hurt from laughing so hard. Tenzin was turning redder than a tomato.

Tenzin eventually sat up and wiped the tears from his eyes. “I remember the papers panicking the next day, saying that Dad had opened up a spirit portal. Outside looking in, I guess I could see the assumption.” He nodded towards the city center. “Those fireworks had nothing on the real thing. A new portal. I can’t believe it.”

“Neither can I,” Lin said, propping herself up. “Then again, I never though Republic City would almost be destroyed by Vaatu, the anti-Avatar spirit, but here we are.”

The Airbender chuckled, and a comfortable silence hung in the air for a few moments. “I missed this.”

Lin cocked her head. “Missed what?”

“Our conversations. This cliff.”

“You do know you can come to this cliff anytime you want, right? This is your island.”

“Mm, true. But it’s not the same without—“

“My bitter sarcasm?”

“I would call it your dry wit, but sure.”

Lin snorted, and let the silence descend again. “I missed your friendship too,” she said after a few moments. “I guess we owe it to Korra’s penchant for destroying everything in her path for both getting us talking. And keeping us talking.”

Tenzin emphatically gestured to the portal. “You call that destruction?”

“No, I call that a miracle. The people who lived and worked there, maybe not so much.” She cast a side glance. “We’re going to need your help with things. Your airbenders are surprisingly good with making peace with the spirits.”

“Funny you mention that. I was just thinking about how we’d need your help with deploying aid where it’s needed most.”

Lin nudged him with her shoulder, a smile on her face. “Guess we’re stuck together, hm?”

Tenzin grinned. “Looks like it.”

The two friends leaned back, shoulders touching, watching the motes of the spirit portal dance in the sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading!! Please leave a comment below, I always love reviews :)

**Author's Note:**

> If you all want to know more about the little books, please check out my fic "Of Books and Bindings!"


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